M20 Trifid Nebula - Quick, late edition...

lazjen (Chris) · #1 02-10-2016, 12:31 PM

...with dust donuts at no extra cost!

I've been acquiring some new gear over the last couple of months, and the other night I got to try some of it out. This image is the result of the first successful test run after sorting out various problems.

Gear:
G11
RC10 with 0.67 FR.
ZWO ASI1600MM-C
Xagyl 8 position motorised filter wheel

Images (taken at "Unity" gain/offset setting):
Bias: 50
Darks: 60
L: 15x60s
R: 12x60s
G: 12x60s
B: 12x60s

Processing:
PixInsight - just the basics. Although I did have to crop as I have some vignetting to look into, plus the corners don't appear to be flat.

Click image for larger version

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Another view, not jpg'd: https://flic.kr/p/LQjbuA

Things I already know I need to do: Flat images; look into the vignetting; check the spacing with the reducer; take more subs per channel; experiment with the camera settings; determine ideal LRGB exposure times from the backyard.

Any comments, constructive feedback, etc welcome.

DJScotty (Scott) · #2 02-10-2016, 09:04 PM

Wow that's really nice Chris.
Love the colours and diffraction spikes.
Looks like unity is the way to go with RGB.

Nice work

RickS (Rick) · #3 02-10-2016, 09:31 PM

Very nice looking image, Chris, especially for a first light and short integration time.

Cheers,
Rick.

lazjen (Chris) · #4 02-10-2016, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJScotty

Wow that's really nice Chris.
Love the colours and diffraction spikes.
Looks like unity is the way to go with RGB.

Nice work

Thanks Scotty. Diffraction spikes come free with the scope.

I think the settings (for RGB) are going to be dependent on a number of factors, so one size may not fit all. However, for now, I think I'll stick with Unity (unless better information comes to hand, of course) and vary other things instead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickS

Very nice looking image, Chris, especially for a first light and short integration time.

Thanks Rick. I was concerned when I was capturing the data whether it would be enough for a good test, especially as M20 was getting low in the west.

Atmos (Colin) · #5 03-10-2016, 10:35 PM

Still has a fair bit of noise but it very nicely resolved! Although it is getting pretty late in the season, with a but more data you'll have a cracking image

lazjen (Chris) · #6 03-10-2016, 10:46 PM

That's true, but given the defects in place with no flats, I might as well do it from scratch next time (with flats!). Maybe even put in 2 - 3 hours next time.

...which it will need to help defeat the noise anyway.

I'm still a bit surprised at how well this image turned out. The conditions were not great - getting low in the sky and the wind was gusty at times. It has set a high-ish bar for me to beat when I *actually* have everything going right.